In phonetics and phonology, a uvular stop is a type of consonantal sound, made with the back of the tongue in contact the uvula, which hangs down in front of the throat (hence uvular), held tightly enough to block the passage of air (hence a stop consonant).
Uvular stops are acoustically similar to but less common than the velar stops (e.g. and ), and do not occur in English. Uvular stops are common in certain parts of the world, e.g. the Caucasian languages and the Pacific Northwest languages of North America. However, they are unattested in the European languages (outside of a few peripheral areas such as the Caucasus).
The most common sound is the voiceless stop . This sound is well known in Arabic, and occurs (at least in Standard Arabic) in words such as Quran (Koran), Qatar, al-Qaeda, and al-Qahira (the Arabic form of the city of Cairo). More generally, several kinds are distinguished:
- , voiceless uvular stop
- , voiced uvular stop
- , uvular nasal
- , uvular ejective
- , voiced uvular implosive (very rare)
- or voiceless uvular implosive (claimed to exist in Kaqchikel)
International Phonetic Alphabet
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IPA topics
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IPA |
- International Phonetic Association
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Phonetics |
- Diacritics
- Segments
- Tone letter
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- Manner of articulation
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Special topics |
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Encodings |
- SAMPA
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Consonants
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IPA pulmonic consonantschart image • audio |
Place → |
Labial |
Coronal |
Dorsal |
Radical |
Glottal |
↓ Manner |
Bilabial |
Labio-dental |
Dental |
Alveolar |
Postalveolar |
Retroflex |
Alveolo-palatal |
Palatal |
Velar |
Uvular |
Pharyngeal |
Epiglottal |
Glottal |
Nasal |
m̥ |
m |
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ɱ |
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n̪ |
n̥ |
n |
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n̠ |
ɳ̊ |
ɳ |
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ɲ̟ |
ɲ̊ |
ɲ |
ŋ̊ |
ŋ |
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ɴ |
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Stop |
p |
b |
p̪ |
b̪ |
t̪ |
d̪ |
t |
d |
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ʈ |
ɖ |
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c |
ɟ |
k |
ɡ |
q |
ɢ |
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ʡ |
ʔ |
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Fricative |
ɸ |
β |
f |
v |
θ |
ð |
s |
z |
ʃ |
ʒ |
ʂ |
ʐ |
ɕ |
ʑ |
ç |
ʝ |
x |
ɣ |
χ |
ʁ |
ħ |
ʕ |
ʜ |
ʢ |
h |
ɦ |
Approximant |
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ʋ |
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ɹ |
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ɻ |
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j̊ |
j |
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ɰ |
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Flap or tap |
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ⱱ̟ |
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ⱱ |
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ɾ |
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ɽ |
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ɢ̆ |
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ʡ̯ |
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Trill |
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ʙ |
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r̥ |
r |
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ɽ͡r |
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ʀ |
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ᴙ * |
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Lateral fricative |
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ɬ |
ɮ |
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ɭ˔̊ |
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ʎ̥˔ |
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ʟ̝̊ |
ʟ̝ |
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Lateral approximant |
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l̪ |
l̥ |
l |
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ɭ |
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ʎ̟ |
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ʎ |
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ʟ |
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Lateral flap |
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ɺ |
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ɺ̠ |
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ʎ̯ |
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ʟ̆ |
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Non-pulmonic consonants
Clicks |
ʘ |
ǀ |
ǃ |
ǂ |
ǁ |
ʘ̃ |
ʘ̃ˀ |
ʘ͡q |
ʘ͡qʼ |
‼ |
Implosives |
ɓ |
ɗ |
ʄ |
ᶑ |
ɠ |
ʛ |
Ejectives |
pʼ |
t̪ʼ |
tʼ |
cʼ |
ʈʼ |
kʼ |
qʼ |
fʼ |
θʼ |
sʼ |
ɬʼ |
ʃʼ |
ʂʼ |
ɕʼ |
xʼ |
χʼ |
tsʼ |
tɬʼ |
cʎ̝̥ʼ |
tʃʼ |
ʈʂʼ |
kxʼ |
kʟ̝̊ʼ |
qχʼ |
Affricates
p̪f |
b̪v |
ts |
dz |
tʃ |
dʒ |
tɕ |
dʑ |
ʈʂ |
ɖʐ |
tɬ |
dɮ |
cç |
ɟʝ |
cʎ̥˔ |
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kx |
ɡɣ |
kʟ̝̊ |
ɡʟ̝ |
qχ |
ɢʁ |
Co-articulated consonants
Continuants |
ʍ |
w |
ɥ |
ɧ |
Occlusives |
k͡p |
ɡ͡b |
ŋ͡m |
These tables contain phonetic symbols, which may not display correctly in some browsers. |
Where symbols appear in pairs, left—right represent the voiceless—voiced consonants. |
Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged to be impossible. |
* Symbol not defined in IPA. |
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Chart image |
- Pulmonics
- Non-pulmonics
- Affricates
- Co-articulated
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Vowels
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Front |
Near-front |
Central |
Near-back |
Back |
Close |
•iy
•ɨʉ
•ɯu
•ɪʏ
•ɪ̈ʊ̈
•ʊ
•eø
•ɘɵ
•ɤo
•e̞ø̞
ə
•ɤ̞o̞
•ɛœ
•ɜɞ
•ʌɔ
•æ
ɐ
•aɶ
•ä
•ɑɒ
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Near-close |
Close-mid |
Mid |
Open-mid |
Near-open |
Open |
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Vowels: IPA help • chart • chart with audio • view
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